Contracts: Agreement on crew numbers not incorporated into employees' contracts

This report relates to 1 case(s)

The High Court has held that provisions regarding minimum crew complements, contained in collective agreements, were not legally incorporated into employees’ contracts of employment, and those employees could not rely on them. In any event an injunction sought by the employees, to restrain British Airways (BA) from crewing planes other than in accordance with that collective agreement, could not possibly be justified.

In Malone and others v British Airways plc [2010] IRLR
431 HC, the High Court held that the provisions of a collective
agreement purporting to set "minimum" cabin crew numbers for different routes
and types of craft were not incorporated into individual employees' contracts
of employment. In any event, an injunction would not be granted to restrain the
employer from reducing cabin crew numbers below the levels specified, and, even
if there had been a breach of contract, any award for damages would be for a
nominal amount only.

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